They may be undefeated, but for the Letran Lady Knights, they will always reset after every win in the NCAA Season 101 women’s volleyball tournament.
After sweeping the first two phases of the preliminary round, the Intramuros-based crew are now at 9-0 and leads Group B, enough to virtually clinch a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.
For Judiel Nitura, however, the journey does not stop on wins alone.
“Ready pa rin, prepare pa rin [for next round]. Kasi hindi siya biro, hindi siya basta nakikita lang namin ‘yung standing na 9-0,” Nitura told GMA News Online on Sunday after their win against De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.
“Kasi tulad ng sinabi ng coaches namin, back to zero lahat, reset as in. Hindi namin iisipin kung nasan kami ngayon. Although 'yung kumpiyansa namin tumataas talaga.”
(Still ready, still preparing for the next round. It's no joke, we can't be comfortable seeing the standing at 9-0. Like our coaches tell us, it's back to zero every time, reset. We don't think about where we're at right now. But our confidence is going up.)
Beyond their skill set, Nitura credited members of their coaching staff who help them grow and boost their confidence.
“Siguro sa tulong na rin talaga ng coaches namin, nagagawa namin ‘yung mga bagay na hindi namin nagawa noon before. At mas lalong tumitibay kami as a team,” she said.
(I guess it's the help that our coaches give us, we're able to do the things we weren't able to in the past. And we're getting stronger as a team.)
Former Letran player Mayeth Carolino is listed as head coach of the Lady Knights in the NCAA, while Finnish coach Aleksi Lahteenmaki runs the training program of Letran.
“‘Yung tiwala na binibigay niya (Lahteenmaki) sa amin, iba, talagang buong loob binibigay niya sa amin. ‘Yung effort niya lalo, kasi alam naman namin na bata si Aleksi pero grabe ang mindset at thinking niya na ‘Alam kong marunong kayong maglaro, Hindi ‘to ‘yung laro n’yo’ laging ganyan sinasabi niya sa amin,” Nitura said.
“At saka si Coach Mayeth na laging nagtitiwala rin sa amin,” she added, while also crediting the other members of the coaching staff.
(The trust that he gives us is different. He gives it to us fully. The effort especially, because we know that Aleksi is young but his mindset and thinking, 'I know you know how to play. This is not your level of play', that's what he always tells us... And Coach Mayeth always trusts in us also.)
Letran will return to its group starting Friday and will face Emilio Aguinaldo College.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
